Life & Health Insurance

Disability

This is an insurance policy that pays benefits in the event that the policyholder becomes incapable of working. This is a way to "insure your paycheck".

Long Term Care

Long term care is the care you receive when you cannot take care of yourself for an extended period of time. This care can come from a number of sources such as an adult day care center, assisted living facility, community care, home care, hospice care facility, hospital long term care units, or nursing home. Long term care insurance enables you to transfer some of the financial risk of long term care costs to an insurance company so that you may protect your accumulated wealth from this potentially devastating expense.

Universal Life Policy

A primary function of this form of life insurance includes a low risk cash-value account that accumulates on a tax-deferred basis. The cash value account earns current market rates of interest. The policy holder has the ability to borrow or withdraw from the policy. There is greater flexibility in the premium.

Term Life Policy

Term life is the most common type of life insurance policy. This type of insurance is simple: you pay a premium based on the number of years the policy will be in effect, such as 10 or 30 years. If you die before the specified age, a pre-determined sum of money called the "death benefit" will go to your beneficiary who can use for a variety of reasons, including the cost of final expenses or to replace your lost income.

Whole Life Policy

A primary function of this form of life insurance includes a low-risk cash value account that accumulates on a tax-deferred basis. The cost of the insurance is fixed and does not change, provided the premium is paid. The policy also allows the policy owner to withdraw the funds from the cash value, although the death benefit can be reduced if this is done.

Medicare & Supplemental Medicare (Medigap) Plans

Medicare is a federal program that pays for certain health care expenses for people aged 65 or older. Enrolled individuals must pay deductibles and co-payments, but much of their medical costs are covered by the program. This is an important source of post-retirement health care. Medicare supplemental policies, or Medigap policies, are health insurance plans sold by the private insurance companies to fill gaps present in the provided Medicare coverage. Medigap policies can help pay your share (coinsurance, copayments, or deductibles) of the costs of Medicare-covered services. Some Medigap policies also cover certain benefits the original Medicare plan doesn't cover.

Fixed Annuities

An insurance contract in which the insurance company makes fixed dollar payments to the annuitant for the term of the contract, usually until the annuitant dies. The insurance company can gaurantee both earnings and principal.